A Norwich meat plant pleaded guilty and was fined by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs after misleading labelling of their products.

Norwich Packers owner Ron Heleniak said the issue had nothing to do with the quality of their products, as the fine related to a language issue regarding labelling, that was fixed on the spot.

“There were assurances made and a protocol put in place so it wouldn’t happen again,” said Heleniak. “It was not a quality issue. It was simply a language issue regarding labelling.”

Norwich Packers, also known as Norpac Beef, pleaded guilty to false or misleading labelling of meat on Nov. 1, 2018, after OMAFRA’s regulatory compliance unit conducted a grade labelling inspection on March 20, 2018.

Norwich Packers were ultimately fined $15,000 plus a victim surcharge of $3,750 following the inspection.

Heleniak said the problem arose in a freezer containing thousands of boxes of meat, as the mislabelling was discovered on about 60 boxes.

“It wasn’t a very large amount of boxes. It was corrected while they were here, but they still had to proceed with something because it wasn’t compliant,” said Heleniak.

A release from OMAFRA said Ontario’s Food Safety and Quality Act, 2001, “contain high standards for the protection of consumers and the welfare of food animals.”

It added Norwich Packers violated the section that said a company can’t mislead consumers with deceptive or untrue information.

“Ontario has food safety laws and programs that are part of a broader system that helps to inform consumers and protect the health of the public,” said Bianca Jamieson, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. “The Food Safety and Quality Act outlines the required activities for provincially licensed meat plants to produce and process meat products. Part of these requirements includes making it illegal for meat plants to use labelling on meat products that may be false or misleading.”

A fine of up to $100,000 for a first offence and up to $200,000 for a second and subsequent offences are the maximum.